Tag - silk resurfacing balm

Smooth as Silk

Silk

Monks as Smugglers? It’s no secret that silk was a closely guarded secret of the ancient Chinese, but did you know that it was two monks who were responsible for the growth of the silk industry in the West? Sometime around 550 AD, these monks smuggled silkworm eggs and larva out of China in hollowed out bamboo canes with the promise of unknown rewards by the reigning Roman Emperor, Justinian. Once in the hands of the Roman Empire, the silk…